The 2016 Argentine Primera División - Copa Axion Energy was the 126th season of top-flight professional football in Argentina. The season began on February 5 and ended on May 29. Thirty teams competed in the league, twenty eight returning from the 2015 and two promoted from the 2015 Primera B Nacional (Atlético Tucumán and Patronato). Two teams (Nueva Chicago and Crucero del Norte) were relegated to the Primera B Nacional Championship in the previous tournament.

Lanús won their second title after defeating San Lorenzo 4–0 in the final.

Competition format The tournament for the 2016 season was composed of two zones of 15 teams. Each team played the other 14 teams in its zone in a round-robin tournament and also played two interzonal matches against its rival team in the other zone, once home and once away. In the end, the winner of each played a final match on a neutral ground to determine the champion.

Club information Stadia and locations

ClubCityStadiumCapacityAldosivi Mar del Plata José María Minella 35,354Argentinos Juniors Buenos Aires Diego Armando Maradona 25,500Arsenal Sarandí Julio Humberto Grondona 16,300Atlético de Rafaela Rafaela Nuevo Monumental 16,000 Atlético Tucumán Tucumán Monumental José Fierro 32,700 Banfield Banfield Florencio Solá 34,901 BelgranoCórdoba Julio César Villagra 28,000 Mario Alberto Kempes 57,000Boca Juniors Buenos Aires Alberto J. Armando 49,000Colón Santa Fe Brigadier General Estanislao López 40,000 Defensa y Justicia Florencio Varela Norberto "Tito" Tomaghello 12,000Estudiantes (LP) La Plata Ciudad de La Plata 53,000 Gimnasia y Esgrima (LP) La Plata Juan Carmelo Zerillo 24,544Godoy Cruz Godoy Cruz Malvinas Argentinas 40,268 Huracán Buenos Aires Tomás Adolfo Ducó 48,314 Independiente Avellaneda Libertadores de América 52,853Lanús Lanús Ciudad de Lanús - Néstor Díaz Pérez 46,619Newell's Old Boys Rosario Marcelo Bielsa 38,095 Olimpo Bahía Blanca Roberto Natalio Carminatti 20,000 Patronato Paraná Presbítero Bartolomé Grella 22,000Quilmes Quilmes Centenario 30,200Racing Avellaneda Presidente Juan Domingo Perón 55,389River Plate Buenos Aires Monumental Antonio Vespucio Liberti 61,321 Rosario Central Rosario Dr. Lisandro de la Torre 41,654San Lorenzo Buenos Aires Pedro Bidegain 39,494San Martín (SJ) San Juan Ingeniero Hilario Sánchez 19,000 Estadio del Bicentenario 25,286 Sarmiento Junín Eva Perón 22,000Temperley Temperley Alfredo Beranger 13,800Tigre Victoria José Dellagiovanna 26,282Unión Santa Fe 15 de Abril 22,852Vélez Sarsfield Buenos Aires José Amalfitani 45,540

Personnel ClubManagerKit manufacturerMain sponsor Aldosivi Fernando QuirozKappaPolacrin Argentinos Juniors Raúl SanzottiJomaAutocrédito Arsenal Sergio RondinaTBSLa Nueva Seguros Atlético de Rafaela Juan Manuel LlopReuschSanCor Atlético Tucumán Juan Manuel AzconzábalUmbroSecco Banfield Julio César FalcioniPenaltyPlan Chevrolet Belgrano Ricardo ZielinskiLottoTersuave Boca Juniors Guillermo Barros SchelottoNikeBBVA Colón Ricardo JohansenUmbroOSPAT Defensa y Justicia Ariel HolanLyonSeguros Orbis Estudiantes (LP) Nelson VivasUmbroDirecTV Gimnasia y Esgrima (LP) Gustavo AlfaroPenaltyLotería de la Provincia Godoy Cruz Sebastián MéndezLottoCATA Internacional Huracán Eduardo DomínguezTBSLa Nueva Seguros Independiente Fernando BerónPumaCorreo OCA Lanús Jorge AlmirónKDYYamaha Newell's Old Boys Diego OsellaAdidasBanco Ciudad Olimpo Cristian DíazKappaBingo Bahía Patronato Rubén ForestelloLottoNuevo Banco de Entre Ríos Quilmes Alfredo GrelakLottoLa Nueva Seguros Racing Facundo SavaTopperRCA River Plate Marcelo GallardoAdidasBBVA Rosario Central Eduardo CoudetNikeBanco Municipal San Lorenzo Pablo GuedeNikeBanco Ciudad San Martín (SJ) Pablo LavallénMitreSan Juan Sarmiento Ricardo Caruso LombardiPenaltyNaldoTemperley Gustavo ÁlvarezLyonSecco Tigre Pedro TroglioKappaBanco Macro Unión Leonardo MadelónTBSOSPAT Vélez Sarsfield Christian BassedasUmbroHitachi

Managerial changes Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Replaced by Date of appointment Pre-season changesGodoy Cruz Daniel Oldrá Replaced November 7, 2015 Sebastián Méndez December 1, 2015 Atlético de Rafaela Leonardo Astrada End of contract November 8, 2015 Jorge Burruchaga December 7, 2015 San Lorenzo Edgardo Bauza End of contract November 8, 2015 Pablo Guede December 20, 2015 Vélez Sarsfield Miguel Ángel Russo Mutual agreement November 8, 2015 Christian Bassedas November 13, 2015 Temperley Ricardo Rezza End of contract November 15, 2015 Iván Delfino December 16, 2015 San Martín (SJ) Carlos Mayor Resigned November 23, 2015 Pablo Lavallén December 12, 2015 Argentinos Juniors Néstor Gorosito End of contract November 24, 2015 Carlos Mayor December 19, 2015 Tigre Gustavo Alfaro Mutual agreement November 25, 2015 Mauro Camoranesi December 21, 2015 Arsenal Ricardo Caruso Lombardi Mutual agreement November 26, 2015 Sergio Rondina November 28, 2015 Estudiantes (LP) Gabriel Milito Mutual agreement December 5, 2015 Nelson Vivas December 7, 2015 Lanús Guillermo Barros Schelotto End of contract December 6, 2015 Jorge Almirón December 8, 2015 Racing Diego Cocca End of contract December 6, 2015 Facundo Sava December 16, 2015 Patronato Iván Delfino Mutual agreement December 13, 2015 Rubén Forestello December 19, 2015 Quilmes Facundo Sava Mutual agreement December 16, 2015 Alfredo Grelak December 21, 2015 Tournament changesNewell's Old Boys Lucas Bernardi Resigned February 14, 2016 Diego Osella February 22, 2016Olimpo Diego Osella Resigned February 22, 2016 Cristian Díaz February 22, 2016Boca Juniors Rodolfo Arruabarrena Sacked February 29, 2016 Guillermo Barros Schelotto March 1, 2016 Argentinos Juniors Carlos Mayor Resigned March 4, 2016 Raúl Sanzotti March 6, 2016 Sarmiento Sergio Lippi Mutual agreement March 6, 2016 Ricardo Caruso Lombardi March 10, 2016 Gimnasia y Esgrima (LP) Pedro Troglio Sacked March 14, 2016 Gustavo Alfaro March 20, 2016Tigre Mauro Camoranesi Sacked March 17, 2016 Pedro Troglio March 21, 2016Banfield Claudio Vivas Replaced March 20, 2016 Julio César Falcioni March 20, 2016Atlético de Rafaela Jorge Burruchaga Sacked March 25, 2016 Juan Manuel Llop March 26, 2016Colón Darío Franco Resigned April 17, 2016 Ricardo Johansen April 17, 2016Temperley Iván Delfino Sacked May 3, 2016 Gustavo Álvarez May 3, 2016Independiente Mauricio Pellegrino End of contract May 10, 2016 Fernando Berón May 10, 2016

Interim Managers 1. Juan Pablo Vojvoda was interim manager in the 3rd and 4th rounds. 2. Interim manager, but later promoted to manager until the end of the tournament. 3. Andrés Yllana was interim manager in the 8th round. 4. Fabián Castro was interim manager in the 8th round. 5. Interim manager in the 12th–16th rounds. 6. Interim manager in the 14th–16th rounds. 7. Interim manager in the 15th and 16th rounds.

League table Zone 1

Zone 2

Championship final Team 1 Sco. Team 2 Venue City Lanús San Lorenzo Estadio Monumental Buenos Aires

Match details

GK 12 Sebastián TorricoDF 7 Julio Buffarini (c) DF 2 Marcos Angeleri DF 6 Matías Caruzzo DF 21 Emmanuel Más MF 5 Juan Ignacio MercierMF 16 Fernando BelluschiMF 28 Franco Mussis MF 23 Sebastián Blanco FW 19 Ezequiel Cerutti FW 18 Nicolás BlandiSubstitutes:GK 22 Nicolás NavarroDF 3 Pedro FrancoMF 10 Leandro RomagnoliMF 11 Pablo Barrientos FW 15 Héctor Villalba FW 9 Martín Cauteruccio FW26 Mauro MatosManager: Pablo Guede

GK 1 Fernando Monetti DF 4 José Luis GómezDF 2 Gustavo Gómez DF 6 Diego BraghieriDF 3 Maximiliano Velázquez (c) MF 27 Román MartínezMF 30 Iván MarconeMF 26 Miguel AlmirónFW 7 Lautaro AcostaFW 9 José Sand FW 23 Oscar Benítez Substitutes:GK 12 Matías IbáñezDF 14 Marcelo HerreraMF 21 Nicolás Pasquini MF 16 Víctor Ayala MF 10 Gonzalo CastellaniMF 19 Nicolás Aguirre FW 11 Pablo MoucheManager: Jorge Almirón

Assistant referees: Hernán Maidana Juan Pablo Belatti Fourth official: Diego AbalMatch rules 90 minutes. 30 minutes of extra time if necessary. Penalty shoot-out if scores still level. Seven named substitutes, of which up to three may be used.

Results

Copa Libertadores playoff

The second-place team in each zone qualified to the 2017 Copa Libertadores and played a match at a neutral stadium to determine at which stage each team entered. The winner of this playoff qualified directly to the second stage (earning the Argentina 3 berth), and the loser entered the first stage of the tournament (earning the Argentina 4 berth).

Several months after the playoff, CONMEBOL expanded the 2017 Copa Libertadores from 38 to 47 teams with Argentina gaining one additional berth. So, Godoy Cruz also qualified directly to the second stage and AFA had to choose between the third places in each zone, Atlético Tucumán and Independiente, to determine the team qualified as Argentine 6 berth. Finally, AFA gave the extra berth to Atlético Tucumán by sporting criteria.

Season statistics

Top Goalscorers Rank Player Club Goals 1 José Sand Lanús 15 2 Ramón Ábila Huracán 11 3 Fabián Bordagaray Defensa y Justicia 9 Santiago García Godoy Cruz 5 Nicolás Blandi San Lorenzo 8 Javier Toledo San Martín (SJ) 7 Walter Bou Gimnasia y Esgrima (LP) 7 Cristian Menéndez Atlético Tucumán Ezequiel Rescaldani Quilmes Claudio Riaño Unión Marco Ruben Rosario Central Alan Ruiz Colón

Top assists RankPlayerClubAssists 1 Víctor Malcorra Unión 8 2 Emiliano Rigoni Independiente 6 3 Fabián Bordagaray Defensa y Justicia 5 Giovani Lo Celso Rosario Central Fernando Márquez Belgrano Cristian Menéndez Atlético Tucumán Augusto Solari Estudiantes (LP) Source: AFA

Relegation Relegation at the end of the season is based on the points per game obtained by the clubs during the present season and the three previous seasons (only seasons in the Primera are counted). The team with the worst average at the end of the season is relegated to Primera B Nacional.

Team Relegation 1Atlético Tucumán — — — 30 30 16 2San Lorenzo 60 26 61 34 181 103 3Independiente — 33 54 27 114 65 4Boca Juniors 61 31 64 20 176 103 5Lanús 59 35 42 38 174 103 6Estudiantes (LP) 59 31 51 32 173 103 7River Plate 58 39 49 18 164 103 8Racing 33 41 57 24 155 103 9Rosario Central 54 21 59 20 154 103 10Gimnasia y Esgrima (LP) 57 24 44 25 150 103 11Godoy Cruz 56 21 32 33 142 103 12Unión — — 41 22 63 46 13Tigre 49 26 46 20 141 103 14Belgrano 49 25 51 16 141 103 15Vélez Sarsfield 61 25 29 24 139 103 16Newell's Old Boys 56 25 40 16 137 103 17Banfield — 20 50 15 85 65 18San Martín (SJ) — — 37 23 60 46 19Patronato — — — 20 20 16 20Arsenal 48 26 27 27 128 103 21Aldosivi — — 40 17 57 46 22Huracán — — 30 25 55 46 23Defensa y Justicia — 20 32 25 77 65 24Olimpo 50 19 36 13 118 103 25Quilmes 45 12 45 15 117 103 26Colón — — 34 17 51 46 27Atlético de Rafaela 49 25 23 9 106 103 28Sarmiento — — 30 17 47 46 29Temperley — — 30 16 46 46 30Argentinos Juniors (R) — — 33 12 45 46 Relegation to Primera B Nacional

Attendances

Source: AFA

No. Club Average 1 River Plate 50,814 2 Boca Juniors 42,107 3 Rosario Central 38,529 4 Newell's Old Boys 35,673 5 Atlético Tucumán 33,927 6 Racing Club 33,482 7 San Lorenzo 31,518 8 Independiente 28,296 9 Colón 27,911 10 Estudiantes de La Plata 25,734 11 Belgrano 22,481 12 Unión 20,762 13 GELP 17,216 14 Godoy Cruz 15,994 15 Huracán 15,328 16 Banfield 14,659 17 Lanús 13,741 18 San Martín 11,984 19 Vélez Sarsfield 11,427 20 Patronato 10,603 21 Temperley 9,824 22 Club Olimpo 8,517 23 Argentinos Juniors 7,821 24 Sarmiento 7,396 25 Defensa y Justicia 6,972 26 Tigre 5,743 27 Aldosivi 5,218 28 Quilmes 4,591 29 Atlético de Rafaela 3,718 30 Arsenal Fútbol Club 1,965

See also 2015–16 Copa Argentina 2016 Primera B Nacional

References

External links Fixtures: Zone 1 Zone 2 soccerway.com